Have you ever wished your job was exciting? Are you tired of being stuck in a boring job that doesn’t offer much advancement? If so, you probably need to do something to change that! There are many fun careers out there, and going back to school is one way to land one of them. If you enjoy helping others, you might want to consider a job as a cruise ship counselor! Masters in counseling programs can help you land this very exciting job and the best part is you can do it completely online. Today, we are going to learn some of the benefits of this position and what it can offer you.

You Will Get to Cruise the World

Photo: Cunard

Once you have completed your online masters in counseling from one of the top schools like Bradley University, you can find a job on one of the many cruise lines as a youth counselor. You will work on the ship and when you have time off, you can explore the ship and all it has to offer. The best part is you will get to see the world and get paid for it at the same time! This is just one of the many perks you that you will get while working on a cruise ship.

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No Need to Worry About Paying the Rent

Rent can be expensive and while you are working on board a cruise ship, you will never have to worry about paying for it. You will be able to live rent free because a cabin will be provided for you free of charge! While you might not get one with an ocean view, you will have a nice cozy place to call home while you are out on your voyage. Many other things will be free of charge including your meals which you can get in the mess hall of the ship. You won’t be eating at a 4-star restaurant, but the food will be just as delicious and it’s completely free! These covered expenses will save you a lot of money which you can use for other things. This will help you pay back your student loans that you incurred while attending your online masters in counseling degree much faster.

You Get to Meet People from All Over the World

When you work on a cruise ship, you will get to meet interesting people from around the world. You will get to work with people from all walks of life and from countries you have probably never heard of before. This can be very wonderful, and you just might make a few friends in the process. Knowing people from around the globe has its benefits and you will learn so much about different cultures. So if you are a people person, this job just might be right for you!

These are just a few of the benefits of getting your masters of counseling online, and landing a job as a cruise ship counselor. This job is very exciting, and you will get to meet new faces, travel to strange places and get paid while doing so.

Sailing is one of the most revolutionary forms of transportation. Sailing has been an integral part of various cultures for many centuries. The human fascination and reverence of the sea have inspired many men and women to set sail with hopes of discovering what lies beneath the blue carpet.

For eons, filmmakers have been trying to capture the strength and splendor of the ocean and its creatures on camera. There have been a multitude of stories based on real life as well as fiction highlighting the dramatic, and sometimes, frightening stories of people at sea.

We have compiled a list of five must-watch oceanic movies that are sure to awe and inspire you.

1. The Bounty– The Bounty is based on the oldest and most famous oceanic stories ever-Mutiny on the Bounty. The 1984 retelling of this famous story stars Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, Laurence Oliver, and Daniel Day-Lewis. With an amazing star cast like this, it is no wonder that this is one of the best nautical movies of all times. The audience gets a real sense of the scale on which the characters and the ship travels. The story is has an intensely human perspective thanks to the circumstances placing the characters aboard the Bounty under the dictatorial leadership of Lieutenant Bligh played by Anthony Hopkins.

2. Oceans 11- Ok, ok. Although, not amovie set on the sea. Oceans 11 is a great movie to watch when you are on some down-town on your ocean voyage (I know this from experience). Set in the bright lights of casinos of Las Vegas, Oceans 11 is a classic heist movie. Oceans 11, follows heister Danny Ocean played by George Clooney and his crew which includes Matt Damon, Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts as the take a Vegas Casino for millions. This movie is much watch, and in particular, if you are fan of casino games, but even if you are not it’s still a great watch.

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3. In the Heart of the Sea– This movie is based on the highly acclaimed novel, Moby Dick. This movie highlights the turbulent nature of the sea, as well as the frightening creatures that it holds within itself. It is not an entirely dark film as some of the characters manage to come out of the ordeal with their honor and humanity intact. The choices that these men are presented with are terrifying, and it is an ordeal for them to keep their sanity and dignity alive under the circumstances. The film has some beautiful cinematography with sweeping shots of sails being hoisted on the masts and ships gliding through the blue waters of the ocean.

4. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World– This seafaring epic features Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. The film follows the story of two men engaged in a cat and mouse globetrotting battle. Their ship, called the Surprise, must take on the Archeron which is the pride of Napoleon’s fleet. Despite being at a severe disadvantage regarding ammunition, Captain Aubrey (Crowe) motivates his crew to take on their formidable opponent. Master and Commander was made into an excellent board game which you could also bring with you on your cruise.

5. All is Lost: The movie, All is Lost, is one of the most memorable films by the legendary actor Robert Redford. It is a one-of-a-kind film that depicts the struggle between man and nature in a way that had not been shown on-screen before. While many films have highlighted man dealing with natural disasters, none have managed to capture it as effectively as in All is Lost. There is minimal dialogue in this movie, but the manner in which Redford fights of the sea earns our respect, fear, and at times, sorrow.

It wasn’t until after I was already dating my now-husband in my early twenties that I learned you could get married on a cruise ship, and I grew up with a travel agent for a mom.

I loved the idea. I was not a bride who wanted to spend hours upon hours planning her wedding and pouring over details like the color of table napkins. The idea of spending my weekends dragging my fiance around to visit venues and taste cakes had no appeal to me. I just wanted to get married, and I did not want to spend a fortune doing it either. If there was anything I wanted, it was that I wanted my wedding to be fun.

So, it was only fitting that we chose a Carnival Cruise Line wedding. To my surprise, there were several wedding packages to chooses from, including a wedding on the beach in an exotic port of call or an embarkation day shipboard wedding. We chose the latter so that friends and family who couldn’t join us on the cruise would be able to attend. This was best for us too since both my husband and I grew up in the Houston area about an hour from Galveston.

Despite the ability to get on and get off, 27 wedding guests booked with us and sailed along on a 7-night cruise on Carnival Freedom to Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. We were shocked and elated over how many people joined us. And for anyone thinking “why would you want all those people on your honeymoon?”, we thought of it more as a 7-day-long wedding celebration than a honeymoon.

While you can have an unlimited amount of sailing guests at your wedding, Carnival allows up 50 non-sailing guests to board the ship for the day to attend the wedding and then disembark before the ship leaves port. So, in total we had close to 80 guests at our wedding. This option was important to us, because we had a lot of extended family who traveled from different states to attend the wedding but couldn’t stay on for the cruise.

One of the best parts of the planning process was that, as I like to joke now, “all I had to do was show up and look pretty.” You can plan as much or as little as you like. For example, for music you can choose to have a DJ who will play your choice of genres, or you can bring your own music and Carnival will provide an emcee. You can choose to bring along your own minister, or Carnival will provide one for you. Also, Carnival provides some of the flowers, like the bridal bouquet and groom’s boutonniere, but you can choose to purchase extras to enhance your wedding. They even have vows to use if you’d like, or you can write your own. They truly let you customize your special day as much as you’d like, and they’re always happy to accommodate.

For the most part, though, Carnival took care of everything. They provided the three day-of wedding planners who told our guests where to go, they baked our four-tier customized wedding cake to our request (four layers with four different flavors!), and they handled the open bar, champagne toast, and customized hors d’oeuvres as well. Our photographer, who also doubled as our videographer, was even included in our wedding package. (Purchasing the pictures and video was separate.)

The best part? All of this – yes, all of it – was included in our wedding package. There were no “extras” besides the option for tuxedo rentals through Carnival (we passed on this) or the option to enhance the floral package, but even still Carnival already provided the basic flowers. If you choose a port day wedding, there are options like hair and makeup services to add on as well. But otherwise, everything – venues, photographer/videographer, minister, open bar, food, wait staff, emcee and music, wedding planners – was included in our wedding package. All in all, the wedding itself was less than $2,250. (This price does not include the cost of our stateroom, because of course we were cruising too!) In fact, the pictures and video package purchased after the wedding cost even more than the wedding – but it was still less expensive than anything comparable I’d found on land. And still more money was spent on other things, like my wedding dress, hair/makeup, invitations, bachelorette party, etc., than on the wedding itself.

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But regardless of the all the perks like the ease of planning, low cost, and the incredibly unique venue, what made me happiest about booking a cruise wedding with Carnival is that they made sure my wedding was fun, which is exactly what I wanted it to be.

The popularity of a cruise vacation has been climbing, and is predicted to continue climbing in the coming years. In 2018, a record 27.2 million people will set sail according to the Cruise Lines International Association. This type of vacation is growing faster than land-based adventures by a whopping 20 percent.

While cruising is more popular than ever, those who’ve never stepped onto a ship may still have some misconceptions about what a cruise is really like.

Below are some common excuses for not taking a cruise – and why they aren’t true for the millions that sail on the high seas each year.

Harmony of the Seas.

1. Boredom

Honestly, you’d have to work hard to be bored on most cruise ships. They are outfitted with fitness centers, shops, enrichment workshops, pools, hot tubs, games, activities, and often waterslides. Ships also have spas with a wide range of treatments available, as well as trivia, wine tastings, and even movie theaters on some vessels. Whether it’s a Broadway-style show or a drink at one of the many bars in the evening, you won’t be bored on a cruise. If anything, you will have trouble fitting everything in!

2. No Nightlife

There’s lots of nightlife on most cruise ships. You can join the audience for a nighttime singing/dancing show, enjoy the comedy club, sing karaoke, suggest songs in the piano bar, or just kick back in the casino or at a bar with a drink in hand. For more action, check out the ship’s late-night parties, where the music can be found still bumping well after midnight.

3. Too Expensive

Many people don’t know this, but cruising actually offers extraordinary value when compared to many land-based vacations. Whether you book a standard cabin or a suite, a weekend cruise or a weeklong cruise, compared to a land-based trip a cruise is often up to 40 or 50 percent less expensive. Cruise fares include accommodations, meals, activities, and entertainment. If you wish to indulge in uncharges on certain areas, the possibility is usually there, but it is certainly not necessary.

With convenient homeports, many people can drive right to the ship without needing to take a flight. Carnival Cruise Line estimates that about half of the people in America can drive to one of their homeports in several hours, and that would be similarly true for other cruise lines as well.

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4. It’s only for groups/couples.

Cruise ships are social places, and those that travel with family, friends, or a significant other still often end up meeting and socializing with new people – which can be part of the fun. But if you don’t fancy conversation around every corner, there are plenty of places to relax and enjoy reading a book or soaking in the hot tub without being interrupted.

5. Sub-par food

No doubt one of the most important aspects of any vacation is the good food and drinks that await you on your journey. On a cruise, there will be great options both of the complimentary variety and in the for-fee specialty restaurants. At the buffets, there’s a great assortment of options from cold-cuts, to comfort food, pizza, and Asian dishes. Multi-course meals in the main dining rooms offer a great array of choices which is included in your fare. There are also other free options on most mainstream ships, which can include salad bars, hot dogs and burgers, and sometimes even Mexican burritos and tacos.

Specialty restaurants provide a more intimate atmosphere than the buffet or main dining room, and often an elevated level of cuisine, as well. Steakhouses, Italian restaurants, and Japanese hibachi-style specialty restaurants are common on cruise ships, but there’s a huge variety of them across the cruise lines to suit your fancy.

6. Cruises are for seniors.

According to independent surveys, cruising has been steadily increasing in popularity across all ages and demographics, including adults, seniors, kids, and millennials. Across the spectrum, most that take a cruise vacation want to go again. A recent J.D. Power survey found that Gen Y/Millennials and Gen Xers are particularly enthusiastic about repeating the cruise experience.

7. No Kids Activities

Cruises offer endless fun and games for young guests. Youth staff keep the little ones occupied in fun play spaces and kids clubs, giving parents some time to themselves. Teens and tweens also get their own clubs on most cruise lines. Restaurants also will usually have kids menus, and activities for the whole family abound – especially on lines like Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Disney.

8. Cruises are outdated.

In many ways, cruising is becoming the vacation of the future. Carnival Corporation has recently begun implementing their Ocean Medallion technology, which can be used to make onboard purchases, open your cabin door, and help personalize your cruising experience. Ships are also being outfitted with faster and faster wifi at sea, and internet packages are becoming increasingly affordable. And, as new ships debut and old ones are being updated, styles are also being updated to reflect a more modern taste.